Patty Melt Video and Recipe
the ultimate burger / sandwich
FARIDEH SADEGHIN
AUG 10, 2023
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The patty melt is believed to have been invented sometime in the 1940s in Los Angeles, CA by Tiny Naylor. Traditionally, a patty melt is a cooked burger patty on toasted rye bread with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese.
In working on this recipe, I asked myself (many times) if a patty melt is a sandwich or if it is a burger. To be honest, I am not a huge burger person (shocking, I know). I am, however, a big fan of sandwiches, so for selfish reasons, I think I am going to call this a sandwich.
Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, CT claims to have made the first version of the hamburger in 1900 when a hurried man ran in and asked for something that he could eat on the go. Louis Lassen, the proprietor, sandwiched (read: SANDWICHed) some ground steak trimmings between a couple of slices of toast for the guy and called it a day. It’s been on their menu ever since (cheese, tomato, and onion are the only additions they’ll allow) and I gotta say…was it the precursor to the patty melt? I mean, it’s a burger patty on toast, which is essentially what a patty melt is, plus the cheese and onions (although no tomatoes on the patty melt, tyvm).
My version is essentially traditional, but I also added in shredded gruyere because the more the merrier when it comes to cheese, and then I smeared on some dressing for extra flavor. I’m calling this dressing because it’s kind of a combination of Russian dressing and thousand island and special sauce…and ended up being very reminiscent of cocktail sauce.
So dressing it is.
Russian dressing typically has horseradish in it, as does cocktail sauce, as does this. Thousand island and special sauce both usually have relish in them. They all have mayo and ketchup as the base, and also sour cream. Cocktail sauce, meanwhile, is made of ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice…which is essentially what I did here, but add mayo, mustard, and onion and garlic powder and skip the lemon juice.
Honestly, all this sauce talk is making my head spin. You could use any version of any of these or none of the above on your patty melt and it will be amazing.
BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT THE REAL MEAT (pun intended) OF THE SANDWICH.
(was what I just said even a pun?)
I love to add yellow mustard to my burger. It helps to caramelize the meat and also I love mustard, so SUCK IT, ketchup.
I also toast my bread in ghee and if you’re not toasting your bread in ghee, I don’t know what to tell you.
Recipe below. Video above. This video is free for everyone bc I am hoping maybe that some of you non-paying supporters might consider becoming a paid subscriber after watching (although it might be more likely that many of you will unsubscribe completely after watching, which is a chance I am willing to take).
Thanks for being here regardless. Your support means the world!
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